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| | England |
The name Atwill has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in southeastern England mainly in the counties of Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire where they were found since the early Middle Ages. 1
The name is toponymic; that is, it is descriptive of the place where the original bearer lived. Literally the name is derived from the Old English atwell, meaning dweller at the well. 2
Another source noted that the name is from "Atte Welle; a location name. Adopted as a surname 1258-1358, Court of Husting, London. " 3
The surname Atwill was first found in south eastern England mainly in the counties of Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire where they held a family seat for many, many centuries. They are recorded as possessing estates before the advent of the Norman Conquest in 1066 A.D. but many of them were lost to their Norman overlords by forfeit. The Eatwell variant is thought to be related to a Hugo de Hetewelle, listed in 1187 in the Pipe Rolls for Derbyshire. 4
There were a multitude of early spellings of the name. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Adam Ate Welle, Oxfordshire; and John Atewelle, Cambridgeshire. The Writ of Parliament list: William atte Well, 1313 and John Atwelle. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 lists Willelmus Attewell.
In Norfolk, Jef the Franch Atwelle, was rector of Erpingham, Norfolk, 1448 and Hugh Attwyll, was parson of Cawverly, Devon, 1602. 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Atwill research. Another 120 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1258, 1495, 1499, 1609 and 1621 are included under the topic Early Atwill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Atwill have been found, including Attwill, Attwell, Atwill, Atwell, Atthill, Athill, Atwool, Attwel and many more.
Distinguished members of the family include John Atwell, Rector of Exeter College, Oxford (1495-1499); and Hugh Atwell (died 1621), an English actor, one of the 'Children of her Majesty's...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Atwill Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Atwill, or a variant listed above: